Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Kangan Institute, Australia

Its not often that we include entries from our friends in Australia. We want to celebrate what our fantastic colleagues and in particular, their students are doing on the other side of the world from us and we are enormously grateful to our wonderful friend Ron Watkins for sharing this.

Just to set the scene.......and Ron wont thank me for saying this.......but both he and I have waxed lyrical for many hours over far too many beverages (possibly tea and coffee) in countries alien to us both while putting the Visual Merchandising world to rights........and then forgetting the whole thing until the next time (but we know you wont tell anyone....will you?). What is important here is the friendship, the networks being knitted together and the connections being made and this is proving life long; these have stretched across the globe and the years and made it ever smaller and the network ever better. Why is this kind of journey always frowned upon? Isn't it so interesting that we in our industry, wherever we are in the world seem to gravitate towards each other and just make things work against all the odds? Our fantastic and sadly missed friend Professor Knoth from LIM in NYC and us used to laugh, banter and mind storm so many ideas on a daily basis via e-mail and skype even with the enormous time delay between London and New York that we could never resist saying no to a new idea or concept that he threw our way; we were compelled; it is just a terrible shame that he is no longer with us. Part of his legacy was giving us the manuscript of his book about the legendary (display artist) Visual Merchandiser Lester Gaba and his constant companion the plaster mannequin Cynthia (who he took to the cinema and theatre and on bus rides around New York, then at the end of the evening wrapped her up in a velvet bag until she......well, the first bit is funny and then it becomes a smidgen bit creepy....however our lips are sealed)

Anyway, the realisation has just struck us that we may now have to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary about how we came to have the manuscript and then complete it. Possibly narrated by Sue Johnston or Kathy's Burke or Tyson? Or, whats-her-face who used to be in Neighbours? Of course we wouldn't possibly want to put that 'out there' would we? And suggest a lucrative TV contract? Possibly Hollywood?

But, anyway, we need to celebrate the here and now, and in particular the future, so....how cool are these guys? These amazing students from the Kangan Institute in Australia have created this fantastic installation. The time-lapse video is brilliant.......just watch and be amazed at the future Visual Merchandisers from the other side of the world (from us at least) who may be closer to you than you realise very soon......just watch this space.........Australian Visual Merchandising is clearly rocking and we love it...! Well done guys and thank you for sharing this. One day we will swing by your institute and share the London Love.....;o)

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Many thanks for leaving your comments which are always most welcome; we are unable to respond to every single one individually but we do read them all. (A huge apology for this horrible word verification also which is in place to eliminate the dreaded spam).Kind RegardsJonathan & Team

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Jonathan Baker M.A. (UEL), M.A. (CSM) is Course Director at one of the world’s leading centres of Fashion, lecturing in Fashion Visual Merchandising & Branding and is former Chief World Expert in VM for WorldSkills.org. He produces visual research for global retailers and industry suppliers, is a freelance VM and Retail consultant with clients in China, Russia, USA, Middle East, guest speaker for commercial events, Academic External Examiner and if that’s not enough is based in LONDON. Look out for our first book, Fashion Visual Merchandising published by Bloomsbury Press

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